Jasprit Bumrah gave a virtuoso exhibition of fast bowling to put India on top on Day 2 of the second Test between India and England in Vizag. The fast bowler bagged six wickets as the visitors were cleaned up for 253. Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal then extended the lead to 171 at stumps.
At 114 for 1, with Zak Crawley (76) in very good touch, England would have fancied their chances of at least getting close to India’s first innings total of 396. However, Crawley tried one shot too many and mistimed one off Axar Patel towards Shreyas Iyer at backward point, who grabbed an excellent running catch. That wicket was the turning point, as Bumrah returned for his second spell and ran through the cream of the England batting order.
He once more accounted for Joe Root’s wicket. He set up the England mainstay by swinging the old ball both ways before producing the edge. Jonny Bairstow then chased a delivery that veered away from him. Ollie Pope, England’s hero from the Hyderabad Test, was castled by a splendid reverse-swinging yorker. For a while, Ben Stokes, the skipper, seemed he would guide England to a score of respectability. But Bumrah employed the cutter from round the wicket to castle the southpaw.
By then, Bumrah seemed to know what line and length to bowl. That is the hallmark of a fast bowler at the peak of his prowess. Stokes, after being castled, also made a signal with his hands, which seemed to suggest — how to play that kind of a delivery. Bumrah then provided the finishing touches by dislodging both Tom Hartley and James Anderson to bag a well-deserved six-wicket haul
Kuldeep Yadav, who replaced the injured Ravindra Jadeja, also played his part by removing Ben Duckett, Rehan Ahmed and Ben Foakes. His variation, control and the left-arm angle posed enough threats to the English batters. In the morning session, it was a battle between the young Jaiswal and veteran James Anderson. The latter beat the bat on enough occasions but Jaiswal seemed to have an erase button in his mind to forget the previous ball and concentrate on the next one.
Jaiswal also went past the 200-run mark, becoming the third youngest Indian to do so. He jumped and punched the air in delight to celebrate the moment. The feature of his innings was the way he punished almost every loose ball on offer. Meanwhile, Anderson finished with noteworthy figures of 3 for 47 from 25 overs. Rehan and Shoaib Bashir also took three scalps each but it is fair to say that the experienced pace bowler keeping it tight from the other end helped the spin-duo.
With a few deliveries also staying low, India clearly have the upper hand. It would require a monumental performance from here on for England to win the second Test.
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